28 Snuff (1/2)
The surrounding lampposts quickly dimmed into darkness as the terrifying growling kept sounding from all directions. The scattered trees on each side of the street strongly swayed with the branches clashing against one another, only adding to the cacophony of sounds that encompassed the whole street.
As if the day of judgment had finally arrived, the chilling winds weren't enough to offset the temperature that continuously rose amidst the growling.
Frowning, Garett rapidly loaded his materialized gun with blessed bullets he convinced the Keeper on giving him. He still wasn't proficient enough to materialize an energy-based artifact, so he had to make do with actual ammunition.
”Alice! Things aren't looking good!” He barked at the top of his lungs while the air around him commenced invading his body! Like a cage trapping him from his insides, his muscles turned stiff while the previously locked doors and windows sprang open only to close right after, producing a booming noise that made his ears buzz!
'This isn't something a recruit like me should be investigating! Why did everything begin after Alice mentioned the church?...' His eyes constricted as he remembered Madam Cecile aversion when the young boy pointed him as a member of the church, it happened again! Only, this time they provoked something even more treacherous than a rich woman!
”I can't hear you!” Alice had already forced open the case she carried and hastily equipped her gauntlets before starting to converge the power of the mists surrounding them. A thick coating of mist concentrated before wrapping her humongous gloves, her experienced senses gave alarm signs that came from all around the street! ”Stay behind me!”
Even before the words left her mouth, Garett was already back-to-back with her. His eyes erratically scanned every inch of the street while his breathing gradually started to become uneven.
And just as the tension built up to its maximum, it suddenly stopped. The deafening cacophony gradually faded into the air while being replaced only by the stillness and the sound of low animal grunts and snuffs that came from the very shadows at their surroundings.
”This is...”
”Don't talk,” Alice ordered, her voice grave with a tone Garett had never heard before, totally different from the huntress usual self. ”They surrounded us.”
'They!? Who!? Are you sure the alcohol didn't go up to your head!? My Perception didn't notice anything!...' Garett cursed in his mind for a second before gripping the handgun and pointing it towards the shadows surrounding the duo.
'It's like... a whole pack of wolves is surrounding us...' Garett felt like beasts were staring at him from all sides, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce on him and shred him to pieces!
'Vincent said some strange things were chasing his family... first a whistling gentleman, and now a pack of... I don't know what, hunting dogs? Are the Almirs being chased by Animal Hunters?...' Garett felt the blood rushing to his head as he complained about the situation, his hands shaking as he aimed the handgun towards an unseen enemy.
”I thought supernatural phenomena were... safer!” Garett yelled at the top of his lungs! He couldn't muster the courage to take a step forward!
”They are... usually.” She replied weakly, her powers were not suitable for fighting uncorporeal things or large groups of enemies! She couldn't just punch the air!
”How do we resolve things like this?”
”We find the source, and then we do something about it.” She answered apprehensively, how could they find the source if they couldn't give a step forward in fear of being torn to shreds by incorporeal creatures!
”Then...” Garett looked around, looking for some way of salvaging the situation.
His eyes constricted as he realized that even before these things arrived, they extinguished every light in the vicinity! 'Was that chaotic environment earlier to distract us from their weaknesses? Can things like these even be sentient enough to do that?'
”Alice, we need light!” He spat suddenly before returning the handgun to the insides of his vests and materializing a simple lighter; the weapon rapidly vanished right after! Only the bullets to remain in the pocket. ”It's just a guess, but... They should be sensitive to light!”
”Roger. Follow me!” She nodded and sprung to action, her feet kicked the ground in a jump where she suddenly dashed through the air and punched the door right in front with her enormous gauntlets. ”There should be something we can use.”
Garett jumped backward while using the lighter, with his surroundings turning bright! At the same time, the light dissipated the encroached darkness, so Garett was able to see a monstrous black dog jumping in his direction, with its enormous maws filled with strange, crooked and sharp teeth biting in his direction!
Just as the monster was about to bite him, Vellen's trained reflexes kicked in! Garett's body inclined back in the middle of the air, his right-leg kicking the side of the creature's head!
But Garett wasn't able to stabilize himself, and the sudden aerial maneuver caused him to lose his equilibrium, causing him to ram into Alice's back! The duo of hunters crashed through the forcefully opened door before stumbling their way through the ground, only to stop when finally hitting a wall!
'Shit! Was I wrong?' The thought passed through his head while he lightened the surroundings once more using the materialized igniter, the duo could see a multitude of quadruped shadows roaming about outside of the opened door, not daring to approach the illuminated area!